Crunch Time

November 12, 2010

It is definitely crunch time! We are preparing for the end of the year and of course the big PLAY!

On Saturday last week, Melody had to babysit, I went with her to keep her company! The home of the family was really nice and the boys just wanted to eat pizza and watch television.  Easy enough! Mel and I watched along, drank some coffee/tea and looked at magazines into the night.  I ended up falling fast asleep on the couch after Mel got the boys to bed.  The family came home around 1:30. 

Sunday, I joined the gym with Melody.  I purchased a one month membership to Virgin Active Gym (Richard Branson definitely got quite a bit of money out of me for just a month, no wonder he's a billionaire).  It is a very nice gym and I ran (and walked) a 5k while we were there.

On Monday, I took the day to observe my cooperating teacher and get set with the routine of the classroom and the girls.  I still continued my duties of assisting where I can and doing reading and small maths groups. We finished the magazine paper birds! So cute! I got home, did some lesson planning and went off to the gym with Melody.

Tuesday, I was fortunate enough to go with the remedial teacher to a special needs school.  The ELSEN (Exceptional Learners with Special Educational Needs) Academy is a privately ran school for students with special needs ranging from Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Learning Disabilities (LD) and Other Health impaired (OHI) which includes ADHD. The school had approximately 100 students and 25 on staff.  It was very interesting to see how they run their classrooms, however, I feel like most of the students are able to be in the same schools as students with higher abilities but there is not much funding or many special education teachers.  The programs for teacher education are quite different than in the states and teachers can earn their degree and teach special needs in a variety of endorsements or abilities.  Not many teachers are qualified in their “remedial” or special education programs.  It is not readily available to them as it is in our universities.  I took some pictures of the school while I was there.  The school also uses Individual Education Plans (IEP’s) like we do but they are not a legal binding contract like ours is.  They have used versions of the UK and our IEP’s to help form theirs, it is a lot of paperwork but no more than what we have.  Programs offered to those with special needs do seem to be focused and geared towards the child’s best interest, so it was a pleasant experience and overall very informative.  I am hoping to visit more schools as time allows.


After school on Tuesday I helped Leigh and Marvine with ball skills. This was the last ball skills of the year for Grade 1 so I was able to just play some American games...We only had a 45 minute block to do so and my games are easy to catch on to well Americans who are more familiar with them..haha.. It was a bit chaotic but I am hoping the had fun anyways.  We played link tag, builders and bulldozers and a YMCA version of kickball!

ELSEN Academy 
It is an old convent and the school rents about 2/3 of the building.
To the left is the 1/3 not in use as it is run-down and needs some renovation.

Main Entry

Wednesday was my first day having the girls all to myself in the classroom! I planned a variety of activities to keep them motivated and focused while I set-up small groups to work on reading and maths.  I also had them do a lesson on the Water Cycle and they created their own on a big piece of paper with the process typed up that they had to cut and paste. It went well, yet I felt like I can do better! That is why I am here though! I am learning so much! 

After school on Wednesday I went home and did more lesson planning for the following day.  At 6pm, Marvine picked me up and her and I met Leigh (another teacher at Collegiate) at Jon Dory’s a seafood restaurant.  On Wednesday’s they have ½ off sushi! Yum! It was sooooo good! It is freshly prepared in front of you at a small counter that has a conveyor belt of plates going around it! The plates are different colors and that means how much it costs.  I had California Rolls with shrimp and crab.  It was a very inexpensive great meal! Afterwards, we all went to see the movie, Life As We Know It! Wednesday is also a special day at the movies so our tickets were cheap too! I'd say for around $10 USD I had dinner and a movie! WOW! When you purchase your tickets they assign seats in the theatre, which I thought was a clever idea and good system! Worked out nicely.  We also bought snacks at the concessions but the popcorn just wasn't the same as US buttery popcorn, haha the kind that's really bad for you of course! The movie was great! I laughed and cried haha!

Thursday was very similar to Wednesday as I had the girls again so my cooperating teacher could have time to do assessments and reports.  I planned small lessons and activities so I could still have time to do small groups before break and the play practice. After first break the girls practiced the play from 10:30-12:15.  It is a bit chaotic but they did great and I cannot wait to show pictures of them dressed up in their little costumes! It is going to be a great show!  It was a good day! 

After school, I went with Janine and Marvine to the Green Acress Mall to go shopping for an upcoming lesson in Marvine's pre-primary classroom, Fancy Nancy! They purchased all these cute nail polishes, hair ties, headbands, necklaces for their Fancy Nancy theme! Oh the joys of teaching in an all-girl school, it can be as girly as you want! So fun and so cute.  I also bought two new tops while we were out!  After Marvine and Janine dropped me off at the Durrheim's I just caught Sherryl and Melody heading to the grocery like we always do on Thursdays.  (Maybe it's the best day to run errands, huh Mom and Grandma? That's our day at home too!) We got a few groceries and headed home.  I got a box of honey cheerios, they are quite different than ours but still good, I had them for breakfast this morning.  When we got home from the grocery Mel and I ran off to the gym! She went to a spinning class and I ran another 5k and did a small circuit of arms/legs.  Good workout.  We got home and ate dinner, I got my things ready for the next day and sat down with Melody in the lounge.  She just got her Macbook back from being fixed so her and I have matching Macs :)  We painted our nails and watched The Wedding Date, when it was finished I went off to bed!

Today was another day of teaching for me! It is so fun to try new lessons with the girls and get some maths groups going. They are so bright! Another day of play practice and soon the day has ended. 


Tonight I am doing a little shopping with Marvine and Janine and then later this evening heading to a party with Melody! :) 
The weekend is here!

Thanks for following! 

Love,

Miss G